Water, not wine, for these Toowoomba schoolies

Rachael Murray
Reporter
Rachael started at The Chronicle in November 2013 after completing an internship earlier in the year. She graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Creative Arts, majoring in English literature and creative writing.

Year 12 Concordia school leavers Rebekah Bardsley and Kirsten Noble look forward to being part of the Back Flip program that is being run in The Whitsundays.Contributed

SCHOOL-LEAVER Rebekah Bardsley is one of a growing number of students travelling to destinations other than the Gold Coast for schoolies week celebrations.

The Concordia Luthern College student is joining her friends and heading to Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays where Scripture Union will be running three separate Backflip programs for more than 200 young people.

Ms Bardsley said she was most excited about the outdoor activities.

"I'm looking forward to doing some scuba diving, snorkelling and yachting," she said.

"Their motto is 'choose water over wine' so hopefully there will be fewer temptations than at some other schoolies destinations."

Opting out of more risky locations such as the Gold Coast and Bali, a number of Southern Queensland students will either board a plane to the Whitsundays today, or a bus on Monday to the Sunshine Coast, headed for Scripture Union Queensland's schoolies events.

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SU Qld's programs development officer Andrew Beavers, said more and more students were choosing its drug and alcohol-free "positive options" on the Sunshine Coast, Whitsundays, Melbourne and Fraser Island.

"Finishing school is a great occasion, and a worthy time to celebrate," Mr Beavers said.

"But studies show that a large proportion of schoolies who went to the Gold Coast had a week that didn't reach their expectations. We want to provide options that surpass expectations."

About 600 school leavers have signed up to participate in SU Qld's schoolies events this year.

Due to an increasing number of school leavers looking for alternative ways to celebrate finishing high school, SU Qld this year expanded its program with the addition of Fraser Island.